- How does risk management contribute to the success of the organization at large?

Implementing risk reducing measures is no sinecure. This minor aims to raise your level of risk management skills to proficiency level. Thereby making you a true risk management professional.

Learning goals – What’s in this minor for me?

You will be challenged to deliver advice tailored to the needs of an organisation. You will develop your risk compass, enabling you to navigate in trying safety & security environments. You can calculate whether measures deliver enough risk reduction compared to their costs in terms of money and time. You don’t stop at advice, you learn to implement measures as well. You understand why people break rules, and how to encourage them to comply. You are able to investigate incidents. And you will obtain knowledge regarding quality, safety, security, occupational health and the environment.

This minor offers you a head start with regard to the final thesis of your studies. You will be taught to do your research in a master-apprentice model. This will steepen your learning curve.

In this minor you can choose to complete your MVK. This is a certified degree that signals potential employers that you are an all-round safety professional. This will improve your chances of finding a job. The MVK exam will be executed by a third party exam agency, which is SKO certified.

Curriculum

1st quarter (15 ECTS), 10 weeks

The risk professional (3 ECTS):

- Security, safety, business continuity awareness

- Recognising threats and hazards

- Leadership & blaming

- Human behaviour

- Managing rule breaking

- Eye tracking: improve your risk assessments by comparing the way you look at situations to the way experienced professionals assess risks

- Overall goal is to develop your risk compass, enabling you to navigate in trying safety, security and business environments.

Philosophy of care / defining organisational care (2 ECTS):

- Security is the result of the ratio cura (care) and sine cura. Furthermore, it results from the care an organisation is willing to provide to its stakeholders.

- Defining organisational care aims to provide a basis for the mission statement of the organisation. In doing so it establishes what the responsibility of security, safety and business continuity management is.

Output based risk management (4 ECTS):

- What do the stakeholders in an organisation intend for the outputs of security, safety and business continuity to be?

- Based on these outputs: how do you organise security, safety & business continuity in the best possible way?

- From the precautionary principle and uncertainty to an acceptable risk degree at acceptable costs (economics of safety & security).

- You will learn how to use key performance indicators to manage security.

- Overall goal is to develop a strategic plan (fit) which will contribute to establishing risk management (security, safety and business continuity) that is agile, customer oriented, supports the success of the organisation (primary process) and is sustainable (future proof).

Incident investigation (2 ECTS):

- Understanding the influencing environment in which the incident took place

- Research techniques that allow you to discover deficiencies without assigning blame.

Occupational health, safety & environmental care (4 ECTS):

- Risk assessment

- Occupational health & safety

- Emergency preparedness

- Personal protective equipment

- Hazardous substances

- Environmental care

Master – apprentice tutoring:

- You prepare for the applied research that you will conduct in the 2nd 10 weeks.

- Your tutor is an experienced professional.

- Every other week you will spend a day with your tutor and fellow students to receive feedback and exchange ideas regarding your research.

- In the 1st 10 weeks (1st quarter) the focus is on preparing for your research.

2nd quarter (15 ECTS) 10 weeks:

Internship / applied research (15 ECTS)

- You will carry out an assignment on behalf of a company.

- In this assignment you demonstrate your skills as an expert on safety & security.

Master – apprentice tutoring:

- Every other week you will spend a day with your tutor and fellow students to receive feedback and exchange ideas regarding your research.

- Change management: insights into your own performance regarding change, how to deal with resistance, specifics of change management in safety & security, how to maximise your chances of success as a consultant.

- In the 2nd 10 weeks the focus is on change management and implementing your findings.

Entry requirements

Are you a student of Integrated Safety & Security? You are required to have obtained 150 ECTS, including a successfully completed internship.

If you are not a Safety and/or Security management student you should write an application letter in which you explain your desire to attend this minor. Please elaborate on your experience with risk management. Send your application letter to Hidde de Jong (h.dejong4@avans.nl) before 18 March 2016.